
- Founded: 1881
- Status: Operational
- Region: Islay, Scotland – Bruichladdich, Islay, Argyll PA49 7UN +44(0)1496 850221
- Online: https://www.bruichladdich.com/

History Bruichladdich was built in 1881 by the Harvey brothers—William (32), John (31) and Robert (23)—on the shore of Loch Indaal, on the Rinns of Islay, the westernmost part of the island. The Harveys were a dynastic whisky family that had owned two Glasgow distilleries since 1770. Using an inheritance, the three brothers combined their talents to build a third distillery—Bruichladdich—designed by John, engineered by Robert, and financed by William and other family members. At the time, the distillery was a state-of-the-art design unlike Islay’s older distilleries, which had developed from old farm buildings. It was built from stone from the sea shore and has a very efficient layout, built around a large, spacious courtyard. The uniquely tall and narrow-necked stills were chosen to produce a very pure and original spirit, the opposite of the styles produced by the older farm distilleries. Bruichladdich was run by William Harvey, after a quarrel with his brothers before the distillery was even completed, until a fire in 1934 and his death in 1936. Over the next forty years it subsequently changed owners several times as a result of corporate take-overs and rationalisation of the industry, narrowly avoiding closure until 1994, when it was shut down as being ‘surplus to requirements’.
The distillery was subsequently purchased by a group of private investors led by Mark Reynier of Murray McDavid on 19 December 2000. Jim McEwan, who had worked at Bowmore Distillery since the age of 15, was hired as master distiller and production director. Between January and May 2001 the whole distillery was dismantled and reassembled, with the original Victorian décor and equipment retained. Having escaped modernisation, most of the original Harvey machinery is still in use today. No computers are used in production with all processes controlled by a pool of skilled artisans who pass on information orally and largely measure progress using dipsticks and simple flotation devices. On 23 July 2012, it was announced that Rémy Cointreau reached an agreement with Bruichladdich to buy the distillery for a sum of £58m.
The Whiskyphiles tasting notes
Official Bottling
- Bruichladdich 18.06.98 Ancien Regime (2016)
- Bruichladdich 1984 / 32 (2018)
- Bruichladdich 1986 / 30 (2018)
- Bruichladdich 1994 Micro-Provenance Cask 013 (2015)
- Bruichladdich 2003 Micro-Provenance Cask 229 (2015)
- Bruichladdich 2003 Micro-Provenance Cask 543 (2015)
- Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008 (2015)
- Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008 Islay Grown (2021)
- Bruichladdich Cuvée 382 La Berenice (2014)
- Bruichladdich Feis Ile 2021 Masterclass 1 (2021)
- Bruichladdich Feis Ile 2021 Masterclass 2 (2021)
- Bruichladdich Feis Ile 2021 Masterclass 3 (2021)
- Bruichladdich Feis Ile 2021 Masterclass 4 (2021)
- Bruichladdich Feis Ile 2021 Masterclass 5 (2021)
- Bruichladdich Feis Ile 2021 Masterclass 6 (2021)
- Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Rockside Farm (2015)
- Bruichladdich Laddie Crew Valinch 07 Andy Ritchie (2016)
- Bruichladdich Organic 2003 (2013)
- Bruichladdich Origins (2021)
- Bruichladdich Rocks (2013)
- Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Scottish Barley (2014)
- Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Scottish Barley (2018)
- Bruichladdich The Laddie Eight (2016)
- Bruichladdich The Organic 2009 (2019)
- Bruichladdich The Organic Scottish Barley (2015)
- Octomore 10.1 (2020)
- Octomore 10.2 (2021)
- Octomore 6.1 (2014)
- Octomore 7.2 (2015)
- Octomore 8.1 (2018)
- Octomore 8.2 (2019)
- Octomore 8.3 (2019)
- Port Charlotte 2007 CC:01 (2016)
- Port Charlotte An Turas Mor (2015)
- Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011 (2021)
- Port Charlotte PC11 EORNA NA H-ALBA (2014)
- Port Charlotte PC12 OILEANACH FURACHAIL (2015)
- Port Charlotte Scottish Barley (2014)
Independent Bottling
Douglas Laing
Duncan Taylor
Jeffrey Street Whisky
Private Cask
Scotch Malt Whisky Society
- SMWS 127.37 Dinosaurs Dancing to Stravinsky (2015)
- SMWS 127.42 Peat freak heaven (2015)
- SMWS 127.44 Cantina Mexicana (2016)